


A Small Victory

by Leotto



Category: 91 Days (Anime)
Genre: Drinking, Heart-to-Heart, Jealousy, M/M, Prohibition, boundary between friendship and something more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25929520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leotto/pseuds/Leotto
Summary: Corteo just wants to hangout with his friend without feeling like he's talking to a person he's not supposed to know. So he invites him to stay for a drink. He doesn't expect an uninvited guest to come visit in the middle of it, though.
Relationships: Angelo Lagusa | Avilio Bruno/Nero Vanetti, Corteo & Angelo Lagusa | Avilio Bruno, Corteo/Angelo Lagusa | Avilio Bruno
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47





	A Small Victory

Corteo likes working with his hands, and he likes working with his mind even better. The irony of the fact that he ended up using both his hands and his mind, but it being not an honest work is not lost on him. Nevertheless he takes pride in his work. There's no other whiskey in town that tastes better than his, and one day, when the prohibition lifts he will be able to make this into an honest work. When Avilio is done with his business here and they can move somewhere far away where no one knows them. They can start over.

He is shaken out of his thoughts when he feels a hand at his elbow and Corteo tenses. Right now they treat him well because of the secret he keeps, but that can change at any time. He can't be too careful.

He relaxes when he sees the face of the one who managed to sneak up on him.

"Ah, Avilio. What's going on?" He asks, with an unbridled smile on his face.

"Nero and I are done with the inspections around here. We are meeting the demands, just barely, but more than enough to bring in lots of profit. The drink is still the best whiskey I ever tasted." Corteo beams at the compliment, happy to hear that above all other people Avilio thinks highly of his work. He is the one who saw the potential in the drink in the first place, after all.

Then Avilio turns to leave the distillery and he holds him by the elbow this time. “Wait!” Perhaps he sounds much too urgent for someone who just wanted to talk to his friend a bit more. Avilio gives him a quizzical look.

“Well, if you aren’t in a hurry, I have a brand new batch in the backroom and it’s about ready. I could use a taste tester, and a company.” He offers, feeling like it shouldn’t be this hard to call a friend over to have a drink with him. Avilio looks like he’s mulling things over, and turns towards Nero who’s by the door. Corteo feels his heart sink. Surely, he will deem whatever business he has with Nero more important and leave him here.

He finds his premonitions are wrong when he hears Avilio call out, "I'm going to have a drink with Corteo for a bit. You don't need me for the rest of the night, do you?" He's too busy looking at his friend in disbelief that he assumes Nero gives him an okay to leave, because he's now walking with him to the back room where he keeps samples and experiments.

"What?" Avilio raises his eyebrow and looks at him funny, once the door closes behind their back.

"Nothing. It's just odd that you actually chose my company over Nero's for once." He says as he drops his work garb and goes behind the counter with just his linen shirt and pants.

"You know I stick with him for reasons, not because I enjoy his company." Avilio retorts as he tosses his hat and jacket onto the hook by the door and collapses onto the stool in front of the counter.

"Well, you are a really convincing actor. Sometimes I'm not sure whether Angelo was real at all and is now completely replaced by Avilio." He pulls out two shot glasses from the cabinet and places them in front with the jovial clack.

"It seems I haven't given my friend enough attention lately. My reassurance comes with a price, though. Why don't you fill these glasses and then we'll talk." He taps two fingers on the counter and Corteo snorts.

"Bossy." He brings out a bottle from the cupboard. The label is handwritten as 'smoked apple wood barrels with a hint of cherry'. He pours generous portions into each glass, and raises his for a toast. "To my best friend."

"To my best friend." Same words are repeated with a smirk and he downs the shots. It isn't Lawless Haven, but it is just as good. "It tastes great, Corteo. We can probably make another fortune on this one when people get sick of Lawless Haven."

"Thanks." His smile looks a bit melancholic though. "I don't care about making a fortune though. I just want to make enough, so that we can start a new life elsewhere when... you know, your work here is done."

He averts his eyes at the mention of 'the work'. Corteo knows why, but he doesn't press. Actually, he doesn't want him to think about it right now. He pours another shot until the amber liquid bubbles at the brim.

"If you like this one, you might like the other sample too. That one has a hint of orange..." He tries to turn away, then there's a hand on his wrist, stopping him from withdrawing with the bottle.

"Corteo." He hates it when he calls his name with that serious tone of voice.

"Yeah?" His voice sounds sullen to his own ears.

"Don't worry." He tells Corteo and he winces. He really does feel like a child that needs reassurance.

"It's fine. I don't worry about your plans--" He hurriedly tries to explain himself, not wanting to be that person who holds back his friend's plans with his selfishness.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." He lifts his glass and the liquor spills over and runs down his pale hand. He brings it to his lips and sips it until it stops sloshing over.

Corteo pulls out a rag from the corner and busies himself with wiping the counter, and his friend's hand. He lets Corteo manhandle him until his appendages aren't sticky anymore. Then before he can retreat, he grabs him by the back of his neck, and pulls him in until their foreheads press into each other.

"It's just you and me, Corteo. Always has been. When this is all done, we will leave town together and no one will see us ever again.” Then he watches light return to those trusting eyes, like a flower blooming at the first warmth of the spring.

“You promise?” He whispers as if he doesn't want to be heard by anybody else, though the room is entirely empty save for them.

“It’s a promise.” The answer comes back just as solemnly, then he smiles.

“Let’s drink to that, so I can hold you to it." Relieved, Corteo lifts his own glass for another toast. He reciprocates it.

A few more rounds of drinks pass between the two of them. With comfortable silence shared among confidantes and harmless small talks, soon there is an empty sample bottle on the counter with the second one with a sizable dent in it. His cheeks are slightly red with heat, while the pale skin of his friend shows no sign of all the alcohol he consumed. There's a hint of very small curl of lips at the corner of the mouth he knows so well and Corteo beams at him. He knows Angelo is pleasantly drunk when his expression starts to become unguarded.

"Hey, Angelo." He whispers the name he isn't allowed to call him outside of these walls.

"...Yeah?" Reply comes easily. He is the only person left alive whom his friend can be his real self to. Corteo takes small pride in that. He looks at his friend enjoying the moment, the drink and his company, and smiles.

"I like this. We should do it more often." He tells him.

"Didn't realize you like getting drunk." He shoots back with the usually sharp tongue slightly slurred.

"That's not what I mean and you know it." He leans his elbow on the counter to support his head and pouts a little. He hovers in front of Angelo as if he's trying to challenge him to a staring contest.

"I miss having you around." He confesses and casts his eyes down. He doesn't like saying this when he is sober, though it has been on his mind a lot lately. He doesn't like to pressure Angelo nor does he want Angelo to feel pressured away from what he wants to do; what he needs to finish. He's here to show his support, not to steer him away.

Angelo put a finger under his chin. It's cold against his warmed skin. Corteo looks up at the shining golden eyes like that of good whiskey, and he feels a lot more drunk than he thought he was.

"We could leave right now."

He laughs a little, trying to bat his friend's hand away. Then, he notices the serious expression. His heart starts thumping loudly at what this actually meant. Angelo would leave his revenge unfinished for him. He would disappear into the night with him, forgotten from everyone else's memories but his. They can finally spend time together without being afraid of who might be watching or who might be listening.

Corteo's heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. He leans in close to the touch and whispers, "Angelo... I--"

That's when the door to the room creaks open. They aren't expecting any other visitors, especially when Avilio expressly told the others that they would be back here for a quiet chat. Corteo pulls back quickly and looks at the uninvited guest standing by the door.

"Yo! I figured I'd drop by for a drink I know will be good, instead of wasting my time and money on other bars." Nero speaks from the entrance, hanging his jacket on the hook by the door. He notices the sudden change of air between the two sitting by the bar and watches them carefully, though the outward air of jovial demeanor he wraps around himself doesn't change for a moment.

"Not to mention a good company." His keen eyes follow Corteo who withdraws completely from the bar, busying himself with bringing out more sample bottles and another shot glass. He's making a lot more noise than usual.

He pulls up a stool next to Avilio and sits right by his elbow, close enough to touch if they relaxed their shoulders a bit. Corteo's eyebrow twitches when he turns around with the glass in his hand. "Welcome." He says with a smile that feels a little too rigid on the face that was so relaxed when he was alone with his best friend. Uninvited he may be, he can't kick out the host and owner of the business he is working for no matter what time of the day.

"We were sampling smoked apple wood barrels with a hint of cherry and another with orange. Do you want to give those a try?" Corteo offers as cordially as he can manage. He wishes Nero would suddenly have an upset stomach and go away.

"Nah. Sounds too sweet." He glances at Avilio, knowing full well he has a sweet tooth. "Save those for him. I'll take something with more body." He asks Corteo like he's speaking to a bartender, and turns his attention towards Avilio. Corteo feels a tension inside his chest that pulls his hands to grip the bottle a little too hard.

"So how much did you drink already?" Nero asks and Avilio points at the one and a half empty bottle standing on his side of the bar.

Nero whistles. "That's a lot more than your usual. You must be piss drunk by now."

Avilio tries to shake his head, stops, then speaks instead. "Not just me. With Corteo."

Corteo feels something akin to pride when his name slips out of his friend's mouth. He's not entirely against how Avilio wasn't talking in full sentence with Nero either. Nero's eyes land on him. Corteo holds it with a certain challenge, and doesn't look away.

"Sounds like you two were really getting it on. What were you talking about? We all know a good drink doesn't go down without a good story." Then he taps his still empty shot glass until Corteo hurriedly pops the bottle that reads 'roasted american oak with cloves'.

"Oh, we were just talking about the good old days. You know, the usual." Corteo supplies, his hands a little unsteady.

"Right. You two are childhood friends and all." A quick flash of something cold, sad and nostalgic flashes on Nero's face, but it doesn't linger. He was still way too sober for that shit.

"So what was he like as a child?" He nudges his chin in Avilio's direction, asking Corteo about what he was like.

When he was a child.

When he was twelve and lost his entire world.

Corteo fills Nero's glass until it spills over, wetting his hand and sleeve.

"Hey, watch it!" Nero pulls the glass back and his first response to slurp the precious liquid so it doesn't spill any more.

"Guess you are too drunk to serve now. Just leave the bottle there. I'll help myself." He tells him, taking the kerchief out of his pocket to clean his hand. That's when Avilio sits up straighter, turns and grabs Nero's hand with both of his, and brings the wet fingers into his mouth.

"Avilio...?" Nero's shocked call makes Avilio stop and return the hand to the owner. "Can't let the good alcohol go to waste." That's all he had to say on the matter, then he returns to being his stoic self, nursing the half a shot a little slower now.

Nero takes his hand back and does not look up until his hand is well and dry.

Corteo takes the moment to give Angelo a 'what the fuck was that for' look, to which he only gets a steady 'you should already know' look back.

Then he realizes that Nero isn't asking questions about Avilio's childhood anymore. He supposed that is a good thing, but there has got to be a more classy way than that to distract the man. Corteo huffs and cleans up the rest of the mess.

He brings several bottles of Lawless Haven to the counter and takes a seat in front of his friend. It is a clear sign that now he's here to enjoy the rest of the evening and not play a server for a town's prince.

He pours himself and Avilio another, and lets Nero pour himself a glass with the bottle he left him. Nero doesn't seem to mind. He downs the shot that wet his sleeves, rolls them up, and pours himself another, eager to catch up.

"Sometimes I really don't know what's going on in that brain of yours, Avilio." Nero prompts and Avilio looks up and blurts out without missing a beat.

"That's because you haven't got any in yours to figure out how a real one works." Corteo snorts his laughter, unable to hold it back. Nero glares a look between the two, and drinks again.

"Just because I favor you for your quick wits, doesn't mean you can use it against me all the time."

Avilio leans on his arm on the counter, and turns just his head to look over at Nero. From this angle his long lashes look really prominent.

"Oh really? I thought you favor me for how pretty I am." Avilio flashes Nero a smile.

Nero chokes on his drinks and Corteo lets out a gasp that sounds like a betrayal. No one else was supposed to see that smile. No one.

Corteo put a hand on Avilio's forehead and leaned down close. Nero's eyes judge the distance of their proximity.

"Avilio? Oh no..." While he and Nero were distracted, Avilio had downed a whole bottle all by himself. Corteo tabs his friend's cheeks a few times and all that comes back is a dream-like murmur. He grabs some water and shoves it into his friend's hand.

"Come on Avilio. You need to drink this." Corteo tries to pry the shot glass away from his hand and Nero scoffs.

"You are babying him too much. What are you, his mother?" Corteo feels a sudden shot of anger shooting up from the pit of his stomach and making him see red. For one, he is Angelo's best friend. He has more than earned his right to treat him however he wants, not that he would treat him any less than he deserves. And two, Nero coming from the family that killed Angelo's mother asking about her just sounded like poetic justice waiting to happen.

"Actually, I am. I'm his only family on this earth and he is mine... my family." Corteo suddenly feels like he's said too much and looks back at Angelo. He's now using his arms as a pillow and laid his head down. His lashes cast a long shadow on his finally blushing cheeks and he looks like his namesake.

Nero looks from Corteo to Avilio and back again. He can't deny the strength of their bond, but he can't help feel like he's being treated like an outsider here. Corteo is trying to make Avilio drink more water and get his coat on him.

"A man's true nature surfaces when he's drunk. It's only going to get more fun from here. I've never seen him that drunk, ya know? Why are you taking him away so soon, Corteo?" Nero asks pointedly from where he sits. He has gone through more than half the bottle in that time, feeling the warmth on his stomach making him bolder.

Same is true for Corteo as well.

"For exactly the same reason." He gathers Angelo in his arms and makes him stand up. He leans heavily into Corteo's side, holding on to his back for support.

"Avilio doesn't get this drunk in front of people he doesn't trust." There's a smug look on Corteo's usually meek face. He keeps his arms tightly around Angelo's shoulders and looks at Nero. He tilts his head a little so he is whispering directly into his friend's ear.

"Avilio, say good night to Nero." His voice is sweet and calming, not like when he was addressing Nero.

Avilio blearily opens his hazy eyes, searches the room, and finally locates Nero who is sitting directly in front of him. He smiles brightly, which puts both men watching on the edges.

Nero feels the heat climb up to his cheeks that cannot be entirely attributed to the booze he has been drinking. He had never seen Avilio smile that openly before.

Corteo feels the chill run down his back, that Angelo likes Nero enough to smile like that to him when all his guards are down. How will Angelo proceed with his revenge when he already feels like this for the son of the Don?

"Goodnight, Nero." Angelo speaks softly and slowly like an obedient child, but with a slur heavily effective by the alcohol. While he shows no guard towards Nero at all, he is still clinging tightly to Corteo and doesn't make a fuss about wanting to stay.

"Please lock up when you leave. The keys are under the counter. Good night." After a quick instruction, Corteo holds Angelo's waist tightly, steadily - possessively - to support him out of the brewery, letting Nero watch clearly how Angelo's head fits perfectly against his shoulder and neck and his arm fits perfectly around Angelo's waist.

There are no replies from the usually loud man. Only the sound of shot glass being abandoned for drinking straight out of the bottle.

A small victory.

**Author's Note:**

> The whole fic in three line summary:
> 
> corteo: fuck my life that guy again
> 
> nero: that best friend position is starting to bother me
> 
> angelo: mmm... booze


End file.
